Milland played bit parts in films in the early 1930s. His career as leading man included popular hits such as The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940) and culminated in his Oscar-winning role as an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend (1945). He starred in the short-lived Ray Milland Show (1953–55) and in TV movies. In the 1960s he concentrated on directing and made a memorable film appearance as Ryan O'Neal's father in Love Story (1970).